Me: Hey all! I'd be lying if I said that this is my first fanfic. I've done, like, a total of four or five chapters spread out over... two or three stories. Those have been long deleted, though. Lolz. However, this is my first Harvest Moon fanfic, if it's any consolation. Not that consolation's really needed, but I do in fact need an excuse for my crappy writing. :P

Well, enjoy!

What an unhappy day it was.

Absolutely nothing had gone right for Jill that day.

First off, she had lost her job. The small store she worked at (which wasn't so much a convenience store as it was the store that was a jumbled mess of absolute crap that seemed to come from nowhere) had closed down. Gone out of business. The only bright side to it was that the manager of the ex-store had given her a paycheck that covered the next week. Four hundred dollars. Too bad it didn't even cover the rent for the cramped apartment she lived in. No siree, Bob, she would not in fact have anywhere to stay in about four days' time.

Next --oh, yes, there was more-- the bus stop that she waited at daily to get home from work didn't have any sort of shelter from the rain. Which wouldn't be a problem, had it not been raining. But, because on this fateful day the upper deities just seemed to hate Jill, and, alas, it was raining.

The chances of Jill being able to sink any further into her pale blue jacket were slim to none. Her body was as tightly enveloped in the thick-but-still-freezing-cold-and-wet garment as it could possibly go, and even her pigtailed, brunette head was withdrawn far down into the neck hole. Her pigtails stayed outside of the hood over her barely-visible head and at this point, she just didn't care. She had even gone so far as to pull her arms backwards through the arm holes and now had them wrapped tightly around herself, rubbing her upper arms. She pushed her head up through the neck hole a bit to peer into the murky gray rain, and, frustrated, let out a sad but irritated sigh. Life was so not good right now. At least the thought of a warm change of dry clothing and possibly a hot cup of tea or cocoa consoled her. Yeah... she'd wrap herself up in her bright red fleece blanket and sit in front of the television, sipping the sweet drink and watching one of those cartoons she hadn't watched since she was a child. Like the Looney Toons. Oh, what a comfortable night she had ahead of her, barring the fact that nights like this in her apartment would be numbered. But that could be forgotten for a few solitary hours.

...But Jill was definitely going to get hypothermia if she stayed out here like this. Where was that bus? It was still freezing, and the biting cold that stained her cheeks and nose red was keeping her from sinking into a lovely, cocoa-and-cartoons fantasy. Stupid coldness.

For a few minutes the brunette pushed her miserable thoughts into the back of her head and concentrated on counting the cracks in the old, dirty street. She had just gotten to twenty-two when a loud, ear splitting scream nearly burst poor Jill's eardrums. She jerked her head up to find the source of it, and realized that it was only the brakes of the bus. "The Death Trap," as she liked to call it, was an old double-decker bus that seemed to have been pulled out of a junkyard a long time ago, judging by the light, garbage-y scent that always seemed to cling to it, as well as the faded red paint that was almost all the way chipped off of the outside, leaving the metal outer shell of the vehicle a scratched, dull gray.

Jill grimaced and quickly closed the distance between her and the pressurized glass doors of the bus that may or may not lead to temporary warmth inside. They opened when she approached, and Jill vaguely waved to the portly old man who drove it. He was used to seeing her every day, and had stopped asking her for her buss pass some time ago, so she could just walk right on the bus.

Thankfully, the inside of the bus was dully warm, and held only two people: some random woman Jill didn't know who was digging through her purse, and the town's very own crazy bum. He wasn't into harassing normal people, only asking for change (Bum) and walking around town muttering to himself strange things (Crazy). Therefore, Crazy Bum.

Jill chose a seat relatively close to the front. She didn't want to disturb either of the other two passengers, and sat with her head in one hand, staring out the foggy window at the gray silhouettes and vague black images that were ten or more feet away from her. Hey, at least she hadn't gotten hypothermia. Bus boredom was better than that.

After getting off the bus reluctantly (It was a Death Trap, but it sure was warmer than out there) Jill practically flew into the main lobby of the apartment building to be greeted by a very ruffled looking, old doorman. Probably just bored that she was the only one to greet all day, but that wasn't any of the brunette girl's concern. She had a warm fleece blanket and scalding hot chocolate drink with mini pink and white marshmallows waiting for her.

Suddenly in considerably higher spirits, Jill danced up the two flights of stairs and pranced down the hallway, not even minding her sopping wet clothing all that much anymore. She approached her door at the end of the small hallway and reached into her right pocket, where she always put her key...

"Crap!"

To find that it was gone. She checked the left pocket, and after that both back pockets and the two jacket pockets. She even checked her bra; sometimes she shoved stuff in there without thinking. But, of course, she came up with nothing. Jill spun around and leaned back against the door, sliding down slowly. Why couldn't the gods just magically make her disappear until life was good again? Of course. They're selfish and like to put lesser people in pain. Duh.

Jill contemplated just laying down right there of the worn light brown carpet and fall asleep; only now did she realize how stressful the day had been, and she was exhausted from the force of it all. So there she was, sitting on the over-treaded carpet outside her locked apartment, soaking wet, and she wanted to sleep, or maybe just lay there and sob while simultaneously marveling at her bad luck. Wait, she was already doing the marveling part. She must have been born under a bad star or something.

Well, the only thing to do now besides sob or fall asleep in the hallway would be to go stay at the train station that also seemed to function as the town's homeless shelter for maybe the... four homeless people this tiny, broken-down town. Soon enough there would be five homeless people, at least until Jill could find a new job and apartment. Frankly, she was quite sick of this one. The only reason she didn't have the apartment manager unlock her door for her was because it (being the whole "lost my key" thing) had happened once already, and after a two-hour lecture, the manager had threatened that if this ever happened again that she would be evicted, and then unlocked the door. After that he tossed a spare key at the girl and she fumbled with it for a few moments, scared by the manager, before muttering a thank you and entering the room, locking it behind her.

Sadly, Jill would have actually preferred the entire scene to repeat again if possible; if it meant getting back inside to the warmth and vague comfort of her tiny apartment, she would do it. However, a repeat of last time was impossible, as if she told the manager anything of this he'd evict her. Either way, the not-so-dry brunette was out of an apartment for the time being, which led back to the train station/homeless shelter thing.

So Jill reluctantly pulled herself off the ground, where she had been sitting with her head on her drawn-up knees, and started the trek down the hallway and back down the stairs. When she arrived at the ground floor (the doorman had mysteriously disappeared), instead of going outside she looked out the window at the still ever-murky rain. She couldn't remember when the last time there had been a clear rain, the type that doesn't hinder sight and looks like falling shards of liquid glass. All the rain they got in this town was dirty, like it had been tainted before it fell by some unknown deity that just loved to piss anyone and everyone off.

If looks could kill, then the glare Jill was sending at the rain through the window would have stopped the falling sky water in its tracks. The poor window, caught in the crossfire, would have shattered. Naturally, none of this happened, but it was a nice thought.

The brunette girl sighed. If she was going back out there, she might as well do it now, right? She couldn't wait here for the rain to stop. The lobby was warmer than outside, but it was still considerably cold, and even then Jill didn't want to be caught in here by the manager. It'd look suspicious, and he'd want a prompt explanation as to why she was down here dripping water all over his lobby's carpet when she should be up in her warm apartment and not disgracing his view of the room with her presence. From there she might not have a way out of telling the manager she lost her key, and then she'd get evicted... which was going to happen anyway, but she at least wanted to keep her apartment for the next four days until her rent was due. Or maybe she would be able to afford it, if she sold a bunch of her old junk to the pawn shop, and she'd have another month in home sweet home. Home sweet apartment. Anyway, then Jill would have enough time to find a job, and...

...and there was still the fact that Jill couldn't even get inside. Yeah, that would put a damper in her plans, for sure. Ah well. Now she was back to the thought that she better just get going.

Jill pulled the hair bands out of her pigtails and shoved them in her pocket, letting her shoulder-length brown hair fall. She ran her fingers through the damp locks and sighed. Oh well. Better get this over with.

So she opened the door and braced herself for the rain when she ran outside, slamming said door behind her and starting the race down three blocks to the train station that she was now to call "home" for whatever amount of time it took to find her key or have a new one made. Sadly, the only person who could do that only opened his shop three days per week, working some odd job the rest of the time. This was one of the days the shop was open, but by now it would have closed.

So Jill continued through the pounding rain until she arrived, huffing, at what was quite possibly the oldest building in the entire town: the train station. She dashed under the overhang along the side of the building and walked slowly along the wall to the door, still trying to catch her breath. Three blocks was a lot in this town, as there were few turning points in the streets.

She opened the door, and a small bell at the top of it jingled as she walked in. Nobody was there except for the ticket vendor, who was asleep at his desk behind the window. Jill grimaced and went to sit down on one of the benches.

This train station was different from the one in the next city over. They had the tickets sold from a vendor outdoors, and didn't really have an indoors area. This one was just kind of weird. Maybe the ticket booth was moved indoors for comfort? It did rain here quite often, so it wouldn't be out of the question...

Jill realized what strange, pointless things she was thinking about, and decided to think of something else. You know, to prove that she wasn't going crazy.

Like the fact that this wouldn't be the first time she'd slept in a train station. When Jill's mom had been alive, they'd once had to spend three nights in this very train station after her mom lost her job. She found another one, and the pair had moved into another apartment. Then four months later, she had been crushed in her work building when an earthquake ripped through the old town. That had been when Jill was twelve. The manager of that apartment building had been kind enough to let Jill stay in her place until she was old enough to work at sixteen. But it had ended up that Jill had to move out when she was seventeen, as even that building had closed down for some reason or other. Jill had been about ready to move, anyway, because the memories were just suffocating her, and at some point she just couldn't take it anymore. Then she had moved into the apartment she lived in now. Had lived in, for the moment.

Without Jill's notice, the man at the ticket window had pulled the metal cover down over the glass and had left. Now she was all alone there.

Jill let out another one of the numerous sighs escaping her today. Sitting here was doing nothing for her, but maybe the bulletin board above the brochure stand would have some job offer or something. People tended to put advertisements up there for anything from lost items to job openings.

She got up and made her way across the room to said bulletin board and looked it over. Nothing. Only a few flyers for lost dogs and an advertisement for a restaurant Jill didn't like very much. She held back this sigh. They were doing nothing to help her mood.

To alleviate some of the boredom that was certain to creep up on her soon the brunette bent down and looked at all the brochures. Some had been taken, mostly ones for things like soccer camp and cruises that the takers would never be able to go on.

As she looked past the Carribean getaways and band camps, one brochure caught her eye. It had a beautiful picture of a small village next to a mountain. It looked so tranquil and inviting. In a red, flowery font along the top was "The Exciting Ranch Plan!"

Pfft. No wonder this particular brochure looked so untouched. That was a dumb name.

Nonetheless Jill picked it up and opened it.

Inside was the outline of a program to use the extra land in the village, called Flower Bud Village. All the village needed was participants to work the land, and there were three plots of land available. It even came with a house and a barn already built, and they would give you your first animal.

I'd be able to do that, Jill thought. She'd always been good with animals. Well, by "animals" she meant the goldfish she had owned when she was seven and this one stray cat that lived in the alley next to the first apartment she and her mom had lived in that the brunette had taken care of for a year when she was ten, but nonetheless, she liked animals.

Jill shook her head harshly. She was actually thinking of this? Seriously? Moving to a farm, leaving this town behind?

...Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Even still she folded up the brochure and pocketed it for the moment. She continued to scan the other brochures, looking for something to read, when a voice behind her called her name.

"Jill?"

The brunette whirled her head around to see who it was, to find one of her ex-co-workers (and also one of her only friends in town), Carrie. She had a closed dark blue umbrella in one hand and was lightly shaking it off.

"Oh. Carrie. What are you doing here?" Jill asked.

"Ah, getting to that." The raven-haired girl fished through one pocket. "I believe this belongs to you?"

She held out a small key with chipped, light blue paint covering it. Jill's eyes widened.

"My key! Where'd you find it?" she asked the other girl excitedly.

"You left it at work. I happened to recognize it, and since you weren't at your apartment, naturally, I asked a few people and someone said they saw you come in here." She held out the metal item for Jill to take.

"Thank you so much!" the brunette said, standing up. "You went to so much trouble. I'm sorry." The other girl dropped the key into Jill's outstretched hand.

Carrie placed one hand confidently on her hip. "No prob. Well, it doesn't look like you have an umbrella, so why don't I walk you home? Your place is on the way to mine, anyway."

Jill nodded eagerly. "Sure," she said, smiling. At least something was going right for her today.

Carrie held her umbrella just outside the door she kept from closing with her foot. "Let's go," she said, opening it and holding it up for both of them to squeeze under.

The two walked out onto the sidewalk, chatting animatedly.

"Alrighty then. Get inside and get something warm to drink. Can't have ya getting sick now," said Carrie.

"All right. Will do," Jill said, nodding once before dashing the few feet between the safety of the umbrella and the small overhang in front of the apartment building's door.

"See you!" called Carrie over the ever-pounding rain. "Good luck finding a job!"

"You too! Thanks again!" Jill called back. She opened the door of the building and walked in. The brunette girl was in a great mood now, and she didn't even notice that the doorman was still missing. Not that it was any of her concern, anyway, but earlier she had just needed something to complain about.

She tapped up the two flights of stairs for the second time that day and walked briskly down the hallway, humming lightly to herself. She unlocked the door and entered her apartment. The smile that adorned her face faded as she realized that she wasn't going to be able to stay in the apartment much longer if she didn't get the money for rent within the next four days. The manager was looking for any opportunity to kick the nineteen-year-old out, and this would definitely be the perfect opportunity.

Sighing softly to herself, Jill entered the apartment and shut the door behind her gently. She suddenly felt drained; the day had been so stressful. If she didn't find a new job soon, she wouldn't know what to do. She started to pull off her soaked clothing, then suddenly remembered the brochure in her pants pocket. Well, if she didn't find a new job, maybe she did know what to do. Did she even want a new job standing behind the counter of a store, or restocking items? There would be new people in this "Flower Bud Village," and, quite frankly, Jill was very sick of all but one of the people in this town, and that one happened to be at her own cozy home with her husband, probably not even fretting too badly over her job loss; after all, he still brought in enough money to pay all the bills and expenses, according to Carrie herself. Apparently her ex-salary, as small as it was, was just extra, for things like movies and dinner at restaurants and trips into the big city. And stuff.

Oh well, though. It was apparent that this town wasn't doing it for Jill, and she needed to move on unless she wanted to be thrown to the streets in four days. Suddenly writing a letter to the village's mayor didn't seem like such a bad idea. Yeah... Jill would do that. She'd do it right now!

...Once she put clothes on, anyway.

Jill sold all of her stuff, barring the things she needed. Her kitchen appliances belonged to the apartment, so those stayed, but the couches were sold. The bed. Just about everything that the brunette didn't need anymore was sold to the local pawn shop, and now she had enough money to pay for the rent for two months. Not that she would. She had sent off the letter two nights ago to Theodore, the mayor of Flower Bud Village, saying that she would be visiting Flower Bud Village and asking if the "Exciting Ranch Plan" had any room left. All of yesterday and the majority of today was spent taking stuff out of the apartment, down two flights of stairs, and across the street to exchange it for what money the pawn shop owner would give for it. Considering it was all nice, new stuff, Jill got pretty good money for it. But again, it was a pawn shop, so "pretty good money" means "less than what it was worth, but better money than she would normally get."

And now, all she had to do was drag her suitcases down the stairs and hand in her key to the manager.

So Jill did. She pulled her two full suitcases behind her, and step by step, loud thump by thump, she ended up in front of the manager's office.

Without knocking she walked in. The short, bald man looked like he was doing paperwork, and when he noticed Jill his face contorted in anger.

"What do you think you're doing? Get out!" he yelled, pointing at the open door behind her.

"No," said the brunette flatly. "Here." She tossed the key onto his desk. "Take it. I'm moving out. Saves you the trouble of finding a reason to evict me. Have fun with it." And with that she turned and strode out, slamming the door behind her. She laughed a bit to herself outside the door. She was leaving. And now she would never have to see that bastard again! She didn't have to even do any paperwork to leave; it wasn't as if that idiot was letting her live in the apartments legally anyway. His attitude with her had been more along the lines of "Pay rent. Stay there. That's it. You don't receive mail from anyone anyway. No paperwork."

Grabbing her suitcases, she pranced back down the ground floor hallway and back into the lobby, out the door, and onto the cracked, dull sidewalk, which seemed brighter all of a sudden to Jill. The whole town did, now that she didn't have to complain about it anymore. It wasn't her town, wasn't her problem, and she didn't have to feel embarrassed for even living there anymore. And she had decided that even if the program was full that she wasn't returning anyway. She'd just go live somewhere else. Mineral Town, maybe. She'd heard it was nice.

Jill made her way to the train station, humming cheerfully, her rolling suitcases trailing behind her. The city was now sunny and almost unbearably hot, but she didn't care, nor was she surprised; it was summer there, after all. Every year there were the strangest bouts of rain that came down harder than at any other time of year, and at some point the town's residents had stopped questioning it.

A little while later Jill made it to the train station. She had booked her ticket in advance the day before, and the train would arrive sometime in the next ten minutes. So Jill sat outside under the boarding area's rain shelter. The loading area was in back of the ticket booth/homeless shelter building and was mostly concrete with plenty of benches. Trains didn't come through this station that often, so people were often stuck waiting for extended amounts of time for their train.

Jill's train arrived right on time. She stood off to the side while around a dozen passengers debarked, and then she and a few other people got on. The brunette managed to find a completely empty seat in the car she was already in and sat down, shoving her bags in front of her feet roughly. Then she settled in for the two-hour-long ride.

Me: Well, there's the first chapter. I'm sorry; all of you who sat through that, it was made of bullshit. :P Stick around for the second chapter, for it is already mostly written in my notebook and is coming soon... "Soon" being I don't know when, but I promise I'll do as much as I can whenever I can, although I don't know how busy I'll be if I try out and get a part in the school play. Ah, well. Look forward to it anyway, for I will try my best to get at least one chapter out per two weeks, if not weekly. XP